With Grit and By Grace

By TChris, Section Judiciary
Posted on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 08:32:06 PM EST
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Retired Oregon Supreme Court Justice Betty Roberts recounts a career filled with obstacles and achievement in her memoir, “With Grit and By Grace.” Karen McCowan reviews the book.

“I stacked up in my mind the many times a man had told me, ‘You can’t,’ ” she writes. “Just in the previous seven years: I’d been told by a male registrar that I couldn’t major in physical education; by my husband that I couldn’t teach; by a male minister that I should never have gone to college; and by a male academic adviser that I should be happy being a housewife. Twice I’d been forced to shift jobs to another school district — once to be able to teach rather than be a dean according to a superintendent’s decree. Once I’d been fired when I ran for public office, just because another male superintendent had disliked the idea.”
But Roberts, then 39, refused to be defeated.

[more ...]

It’s a compelling look at the events that produced the grittiness in young Betty Lucille Cantrell: A father crippled by a chemical in his bootleg whiskey; a mother who took in laundry to try — not always successfully — to feed her family. An early affinity for the Democratic Party came after a New Deal library job allowed her mother to finally earn a decent living. ...
Even after her election to the Legislature, Roberts continued to face obstacles her male counterparts did not. She had to fight for the right to continue to use her last name — the one known to her constituents — after she divorced Frank Roberts and married Keith Skelton.
She was frozen out by her male counterparts on the appellate court during opinion conferences, with the chief judge, Herbert Schwab, skipping over her as he called on the others. A male judge groped her breast when she attended her first judicial conference.

Roberts' legislative accomplishments include passage of a bill to legalize abortion. She became the first woman appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court in 1982. After a life of struggle, Roberts achieved her final success by being regarded as an equal.

Roberts enjoyed acceptance and “professional collegiality” with her male fellow justices.

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With Grit and By Grace | 10 comments (10 topical)

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Unfortunately not an uncommon story. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by hairspray on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:00:59 PM EST

An autobiographical account of clashes between a female neurosurgeon and aggressive male department chiefs at Stanford University's Medical School in the 1980s and 1990s has met with "deafening silence" at the university, says author Frances Conley. Her book, Walking Out on the Boys, has climbed to third place on the San Francisco Chronicle's best-seller list since it appeared last month. But neither the university nor the former dean Conley blasts for failing to support her--pathologist David Korn--is responding.

: I'm debating adding the 2 books (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by nycstray on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:21:15 PM EST

to my reading list for the sheer fact it's not an uncommon story. Oy. But I will, as I'm sure their lives/stories will be valuable to know.
Thanks for the heads up on their stories. It's become more than clear how far we still need to go.

And in TChris' and my state (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:17:35 PM EST

our Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the first woman on our high court more than 30 years ago and long the only one there, tells of her graduation from law school only to be told by the dean to only try for job openings for law librarians.

None of her classmates has reached the heights of Abrahamson. She who laughs last. . . .

: Agreed. (5.00 / 2) (#4)
by TChris on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:24:16 PM EST

Few lawyers or judges I know have reached the intellectual and professional heights of Chief Justice Abrahamson.

Great stuff. (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:49:50 PM EST

One of my best friends in HS, who worked p/t in construction and wasn't the best student in the world, was told by his (female) guidance counselor in his sr. year that he shouldn't bother going to college.

Well, despite that advice, he did go to college and is VP of an international shipping co today in Newark harbor.

Hey, anything that motivates you to achieve is a good thing I guess.

And people wonder why (5.00 / 2) (#6)
by Fabian on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 09:52:28 PM EST

women get outraged when they are advised/encouraged to consult with their pastors and husbands about reproductive health decisions. Do men really care what is best for women? Do men truly respect women's wishes?

It doesn't really matter whether decisions are personal or professional, sexist, misogynistic, condescending attitudes are everywhere. My mother consulted with her pastor about a troubled marriage. "Try harder." was the reply. She needed to be warmer, more loving, more tolerant - and he didn't need to do anything. She was a woman, so it was all her fault. This wasn't way back in the dark ages either - 1980s.

Not all men think that way, but too many do. It doesn't matter if they pressure women to have more children, stay in an abusive relationship or seek/avoid certain careers. It's wrong to seek to limit women's choices.

: Don't even get me started. (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by oculus on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 10:25:32 PM EST

One time (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Jeralyn on Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 10:42:41 PM EST

in the early 80's, I tried a month long gambling wiretap case in federal court with 9 defendants. I was the only female lawyer, not surprising back then, I never gave it a thought. My client, allegedly "the enforcer", 6'5", certainly didn't care. He turned out to be the only one the jury acquitted. One of the older male defense lawyers came up to me after the verdict was read and said he thought the jury checked the wrong box and it was a mistake. He totally ruined my thinking I won the case for my legal ability.

About two years later, I got a call from a prospective new client. I asked,as I always do, how he got my name. He said he had been on that jury and they all thought I did a great job.

I laugh every time I think of that lawyer. He probably didn't even realize how sexist he was being, and most people are smarter than that.

Betty Roberts is great. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by caseyOR on Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 12:45:36 AM EST

She has been a major breaker of barriers here in Oregon. She's smart and tough, and folks who know her personally say she is a wonderful and delightful woman.

Some of the worst offenders are other women (none / 0) (#9)
by nellre on Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 12:16:10 AM EST

Why? I don't know. I'm sure all the female (and maybe the guys too?) professionals here have seen it though.